


Salvation

by HeroSavesPeople



Category: The Flash (TV 2014), westallen
Genre: Angst, Course Language, Crimes & Criminals, Deleted and Additional scenes for Absolution in You, F/M, Love, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-09
Updated: 2019-04-20
Packaged: 2019-08-21 00:37:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16566227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeroSavesPeople/pseuds/HeroSavesPeople
Summary: As Barry leaves the criminal life behind, he struggles to adjust to normalcy.(A place for any additional snippets from this AU.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A milestone moment between Barry and Iris that takes place after the epilogue of Absolution in You. Hope you guys like it!
> 
> (Will update tags as I go along)

"You guys are so adorable.  You know, I don't think I ever heard the story of how you two met."

The hand splayed across Iris's stomach stiffens as the question echoes in Barry's ears.  Iris had been comfortably resting against his front as he wraps his arm around her, his hand resting against her while his other held a ginger ale (he was trying to eliminate anything that could pose as an addiction—excluding Iris), but now his body tenses up and he knows Iris could feel it by the way she settles a hand against his and strokes soothingly.

They had been hosting a dinner party for Iris's promotion at work and it was Barry's second attempt at meeting her colleagues and friends.  While they were all friendly enough, he felt wholly out of place and didn't appreciate Scott Evans's lingering gaze on Iris.  Between the discomfort of being around normal people and trying to quiet the urge to kick Scott out, he was feeling a tiny bit twitchy and was all the more grateful that Linda couldn't make it.

He had briefly met Linda back before Iris knew the truth about him and while they had gotten along just fine, there was always an air of animosity between them as Barry attempted to skirt around answering personal questions that only raised suspicion in Linda's naturally inquisitive mind.  It had resulted in a number of uncomfortable encounters and while he tried very much to smooth the tension, at that moment, he was grateful he didn't need to deal with her on top of other nosy journalists.

Barry clears his throat, his pulse jumping, but before he could say anything, Iris speaks up.  "It's such a cliché meet-cute actually that it's almost embarrassing," Iris says breezily with an easy laugh.

"Ooh, do tell," her colleague, Jenna something-or-other coos.  Mason Bridge, on the other hand only looks mildly interested in comparison—barely.

Iris laces her fingers with Barry's in comfort and he lets himself relax as she tells the story of how they met with more finesse than he was capable of.

"I was having a bad night and decided to drown my sorrows in sugar when Barry came along and comforted me.  I could tell by the way he stayed at his table that he hadn't actually planned on talking to me, but something in his heart must've given him the push."

She turns to look over her shoulder at Barry with a  genuine smile. "I really had no intention of talking to you," he says to her.  "I mean, I just had no idea what I could say to you to make it better."

He looks into her eyes, showing the truth in his gaze.  Even after all this time, the guilt remains in his stomach.  Perhaps not as heavy as it once was, but more of a lingering shadow that made its presence known on darker days.  Even after Iris told him that she understood and that she did believe him when he told her he had no intention of ever coming near her after the incident, he felt as though he had to prove to her that he’d never hurt her again.  

"I know babe," she says softly and despite the fact that they had an audience, she reaches up and gently kisses him.  He's powerless to stop himself from returning the kiss, curling his hand around her waist as he melts into her.

"Aw you guys are so sweet!"

They slowly pull away with Jenna's squeal and Barry tries to school his features, but he could already feel the heat creeping up his neck.  He was so out of his depth here.  Acclimating to normal life was proving to be more challenging than he thought.  He was trying to escape lying but it was inevitable at times, especially moments like these.

Iris turns toward Jenna with a bright smile.  "Pardon us, I just have to grab a serving dish.  Babe, do you mind helping out?" she asks, patting his hand.  

"Of course."

As they walk away, Barry could distinctly hear Jenna whisper to Mason, "Twenty bucks they’re about to have a quickie right now."

He shakes his head as he follows Iris down the hallway when she abruptly turns around to face him.  "Barry, are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, why?" he asks in some confusion.  He thought he had been doing a good job of mingling despite the discomfort.

"You completely froze up when Jenna asked how we met."

"That-I was just thrown a little off-guard, but I'm fine."

"We already talked about this part and how we're going to handle those questions."

Barry rubs a hand across his face and lets out a sigh.  "I know, I'm sorry."

His eyes closed, he only feels her soft hands on him, gently taking his hand away from his face and placing it on her stomach.  It was still too early for her to start showing, but it calms him nonetheless.

"Barry." He opens his eyes to look at her.  "As crazy as our life has been and as unconventional our meeting was, this is where we are.  This is the life we chose.  And I know that things are never going to be perfect and we're going to have these scars, but we have to try to live.  We have to now live with our decisions and move forward accordingly.  That's what the therapy is supposed to help us with and frankly, it's been good for us."

He nods his head earnestly.  "No, you're right.  About everything.  We're starting a family together and I need to get my shit together."

"Hey, I think you've done an impressive job of getting your shit together," she says with an amused smile.  "I feel like finding out about the baby, triggered something inside of you."

She was right.

The day Iris came home with the news, he felt like his whole life had been flipped upside down—again.  He could barely speak for the longest time and he watched as Iris's face filled with dread at his silence and all he could do was grab her hand to keep her from leaving and pull her into his arms.

"I want this," was all he was able to utter, staring in a daze at the wall over her shoulder.  He could barely process the implication of her pregnancy.  He had made a child with someone he loved…and he was going to be a father.  What did that even mean?  He remembered his own father, but much of his own life was spent without one.  Even at his best, Zoom was never someone he saw as a father-figure.  As far as parental figures, he didn’t have any.  

What could he possibly have to offer his own child?

But then one day he looked at Iris.  His eyes roved over her face, studying her as she sat at the kitchen table in front of her laptop.  She was looking intently at her screen, most likely researching a story, but she seemed…content he supposed.  He walked over to her, pulling up a chair beside her.

She only looked up when he sat down and stared at her.

"Everything ok?" she asked.

"Iris, are you happy?" he blurted out without preamble.

She looked momentarily stunned before her face cleared and she rested her chin on her palm to look at him.  "Babe, what's going on?"

"I just want to make sure you're happy.  That I'm not-that I'm not fucking up your life."

She looked at his face softly before reaching out to caress his cheek.  "You're not fucking up my life and I am, Barry.  Happy, that is."

“I love our baby and I’m going to make sure he or she has the best life.  Better than ours.”

“I know you will.”

He looked at her for a long moment before nodding slowly.  "Ok," he whispered.

"Ok?"

"Ok."

He leaned forward and kissed her softly before letting her get back to work.

But now, with all these people around them, he suddenly felt like he was taking some test and that he was on the verge of failing.

"Yeah, I do think it’s helped.”  He lets out a deep sigh.  “I’m sorry, I’m being an ass.”

“Babe, you’re not. I mean, I’m scared too.”

“You are?”

She lets out an astonished laugh.  “Are you kidding?  Of course, Barry.  But then I think about how I love this baby so damn much already and then there’s you.  The way you look at me and everything you’ve done since you came back,” she shakes her head with a smile.  “I know how much you love me and I have all the faith that you’re going to be an amazing father.”

And that's what he was afraid of.  That his demons would bleed into his child's life.  Their child's life.  But he had to stop hiding behind his shitty past and mourning the things he lost.  Right in front of him was the rest of his life, something he didn't think he'd ever have.  A precious gift that.  The fact of the matter was that he was a grown ass person and every decision he made from here on out, was on him.  He was the master of his own destiny and now their baby.  He would be damned if he let anything fuck up their kid’s chance at a wholesome life.

“How do you do that?” he marvels.  

She shrugs and rubs his back.  “The same way you’re able to see the best in me.”

He nods and brushes a hand over her stomach before pulling her close.  “We’re going to be alright.”  

He spoke the words aloud to reassure himself and as he heard the words escape his lips, a calm fell upon his chest that loosened the tightness there.  At that moment, somehow he believed the words more than ever before as he looked into her sure eyes.  How could he not be sure when he loved her so much and knew he loves their child just as much?

A slow smile creeps up her lips.  "I know," she whispers before leaning up to kiss him.  He slides his hands around her waist, deepening the kiss.  His heart thumps in that familiar way, so full as he presses her against the wall, angling his jaw to taste more of her.  

“I love you,” he whispers against her lips.

“I love you.”

He basks in her touch, her warmth, that he forgets they weren’t alone.  She doesn’t seem to mind as her hand gets lost in his hair while his fingers sneak in between the hem of her blouse and the waistband of her skirt, dragging across the skin there.     

"I told you they went off to have a quickie."

The barely concealed stage-whisper causes them to break apart and roll their eyes at each other.  Iris lets out a small giggle.

"We should get back out there before Jenna uses us for her next Cosmo column," Barry grouses.

"I'd never let her."


	2. Always and Forever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry and Iris get ready for another milestone in their relationship.

“Oh god, I think I’m regretting this,” Iris grumbles.

Barry whips his head up to look at her, his heart dropping to his stomach. “Wh-what do you mean?”

Oblivious to his distress, Iris turns to look at herself in the mirror, her hands gliding across the fabric on her stomach.

“Don’t you think this dress makes me look a little like a fairytale wood nymph or something?”

Barry lets out a sigh of relief and steps up behind her, his hands reaching for her waist. For a heart-stopping second, he had thought she was regretting them and they would have to cancel their appointment. Not that he would blame her for one bit.

“Have I told you how beautiful you look?”

Iris cocks her head to the side in faux contemplation as she slides her hands over his. “Hmm, I’m pretty sure I rendered you speechless, which is promising, but I wouldn’t mind hearing you say it.”

Barry chuckles against her templed, wrapping his arms around her snugly, taking care of her barely protruding stomach.

“You’re so fucking beautiful, I’m still trying to catch my breath.”

“Overachiever. Going for some extra credit, huh?” She tilts angles her head to give him a kiss but pulls away before he can deepen it. “Seriously though, do I look like some stupid, bohemian, wood nymph in this dress?”

“Babe, I have no idea what a bohemian wood nymph even is, let alone what it looks like. All I know is that you look unbelievable and perfectly perfect.”

He nuzzles against her hair in contentment, feeling like he was in a dream. After everything he had endured in his life and then everything that happened with Iris, he never in his wildest dream imagined he’d make it here. Never.

Iris, meanwhile, looks back at her reflection and tries to see what Barry does. She hadn’t planned on going dress shopping for something new, but when Iris walked into the vintage thrift store and spotted the dress, it was hard to look away. And now that it was on her, she wondered if it was a bout of misguided judgment that made her buy it.

The dress was actually beautiful. Floor-length and made of sheer material with intricate designs of foliage, white fabric hung comfortably from her thin frame. While she was in fact, four months pregnant, the loose fabric barely betrays the bump and she was grateful for that. She didn’t necessarily have outdated views that scorned a baby out of wedlock, but she didn’t want anyone to assume it was a shotgun wedding.

But the dress was perfect and her bump was barely visible. Iris holds her arms out, letting the sheer bell sleeves fan out as she continues to look critically at herself. She touches the flower crown on her head.

“Now this, this is a bit much isn’t, it? I mean, what am I doing, going to Coachella?”

Barry turns Iris around to face him and away from the mirror in the hopes she takes a breath.

“Iris, what’s going on? You’re never this harsh on your style like this.” He looks down for a moment and Iris is distracted by his lashes before his words catch her attention. “A-are you having second thoughts?”

She feels her heart warm in her chest at his suddenly abashed demeanor. Even after all this time, Iris knew Barry felt like he’d lose her at a moment’s notice. It was something they spoke about in therapy extensively. Between losing both his parents and Len—his only remaining family—Barry had a fear of abandonment, one that took time for him to admit to.

She takes his face in her hands and gently tilts up to kiss his eyes. She feels him let out a soft breath at her touch and she nudges him to look at her. His sweet green eyes are warm and uncertain when they meet hers and her heart flips at the sight. God, she could look into his beautiful eyes for the rest of her life and intends to.

“Barry, I promise you, there is nothing I want more than to be your wife. Hell, we’re having a baby together. If I didn’t want to be with you, trust me, I wouldn’t want to have a kid with you. And I do,” she says softly, before frowning slightly. “Even if our little pea is making my hormones run amuck.”

Barry lets out a sharp exhale at her words, beaming. He hadn’t realized his eyes had watered until Iris reached up to wipe the corner of his eye.

“Oh, honey,” she whispers before reaching up to kiss him properly. He wraps his arms around her securely, holding her as tight as he could without squishing their baby in between them. She hums into the kiss before pulling away softly.

“Any jitters?” Barry asks, his eyes fluttering open.

“None,” she says instantly. “Aside from my hormones being out of whack, that is...I’m actually really excited.”

His eyes crinkle in that way that she loves so much. It was a rare sight to see Barry smile so brightly. When they began dating, as loving and attentive as he was, there was always a shadow, a stiffness in him and after he came back to her, it was replaced by trepidation.

When Iris started seeing that bright smile accompanied by crinkles, she realized she had been missing out and she made it a mission to see it as often as possible. Which didn’t seem all too difficult these days.

“How about you?” she murmurs, straightening his bow tie.

“Fucking ecstatic,” he breathes, eliciting a giggle from Iris. It’s soon muffled by his lips pressing firmly against hers. “Ok, we should get going or we’ll miss our appointment.”

He grabs her hand, giving it a kiss. “Ready?”

“Always.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought I was done with this AU, but this idea just came to me. Hope you guys like this quick little drabble!


End file.
